How did this star become more popular after his scandal?

Chapter 339 Dark Horse
In the past few days, thanks to Jiang Yu and his team, the word-of-mouth for this film has spread rapidly. All the film's metrics have started to improve, especially the positive word-of-mouth, which has led to a surge in viewers wanting to see it in theaters. This is because Jiang Yu's film was previously targeted, resulting in very few screenings in theaters. So many people wanted to see it, but couldn't buy tickets, which caused considerable dissatisfaction among viewers.

This has led to a surge in online criticism and abuse of cinemas, with some cinemas even suffering reputational damage.

For these cinema owners, reputation wasn't usually that important; as long as they made money, even negative publicity was acceptable. However, now that they'd reduced Jiang Yu's screenings, or even stopped showing his films altogether after previously boycotting him, and seeing other cinema owners making so much money from screenings of "The Secret That Can't Be Told" because they were on good terms with Jiang Yu, they suddenly couldn't sit still anymore.

At first, the bosses colluded and thought they could maintain the status quo. But seeing more and more cinemas making a fortune from Jiang Yu's film, they began to waver.

Suddenly, from one or two cinemas to hundreds, even thousands, of cinemas started increasing screenings of Jiang Yu's film. There was no other way. So many people wanted to see the movie, and the word-of-mouth was phenomenal. With so much money right in front of them, how could they not want to make a profit? Besides, for these cinema owners, their main source of income was the money they made when the film was released.

As for the money in the film industry, entertainment companies like those can't make it. So, regarding the conflict between Chu Shaoyang's entertainment companies and Jiang Yu, these bosses felt they had no intention of getting involved. With real money right there, wouldn't they be foolish not to take advantage?
Even if those entertainment companies fight tooth and nail to get their movies released, won't they still have to find them to start releasing movies online?

Cinemas are just a distribution channel for them. They don't care what's really going on in the industry, or who wins or loses. When a movie is released, it has to go through their cinema channels, and they'll still make money. Now that Jiang Yu's movie is such a hit, who cares about other film companies in the entertainment industry when they can make money from it?
They are currently the owners of their cinema, making money alongside other film and television companies in the entertainment industry. But if Jiang Yu wins in the future and produces works, they will still make money, it will just be a matter of who they collaborate with.

Previously, they thought Jiang Yu's movie was too niche and wouldn't make a splash, which is why they agreed to boycott Jiang Yu with the entertainment company bosses. After all, they believed that a movie with such a niche subject matter wouldn't take off, and it would be better to give those screenings to the big-budget, high-production-value films that could get more screen time.

But things are different now. Jiang Yu's movie has clearly become a hit. If they don't hurry up and increase the number of screenings, they'll be left behind.

As Jiang Yu's films gradually gained more screen time, his box office revenue also began to rise, from tens of millions at the beginning to over 100 million now, and then to over 300 million in just one week.

Moreover, this is the result after the screening schedule was just increased in the last two days. The movie has only been online for a week and it has already broken 3 million yuan in box office. Many people predict that Jiang Yu's movie will eventually break 10 billion yuan in box office, and if it continues to do so, breaking 20 billion yuan will not be a problem.

During this period, Jiang Yu's film rankings jumped from the 10s to the top 5 in the total box office of films released during the Spring Festival.

Moreover, considering Jiang Yu's box office performance of several hundred million yuan so far, it is already a great success for a low-budget, niche film.

Everyone knows that Jiang Yu's film has already grossed several hundred million yuan, which is a huge profit for him, as he is both an investor and the owner. Moreover, the film's performance is still improving, and breaking 10 billion yuan is definitely not a problem. As for whether it can break 20 billion yuan, that remains to be seen.

It's fair to say that Jiang Yu's film is one of the biggest dark horses of the Spring Festival season. From its initial niche subject matter being highly anticipated to its current explosive word-of-mouth, its box office performance has soared, even forcing cinema owners to increase its screenings.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yu's film has seen a surge in both critical acclaim and box office revenue, surpassing 7 million yuan in just 10 days. This situation has caused quite a stir in the industry.

It was originally a niche film that wasn't expected to do well. Everyone thought that even a film with a stalemate like this, with no market appeal, wouldn't fare well, especially since the film's screenings weren't good from the beginning, and everyone knew it was going to flop.

However, the situation for Jiang Yu's movie has suddenly reversed. After its release, the movie received rave reviews, which in turn boosted the audience's enthusiasm for watching it. This forced cinemas with low screening rates to increase the number of screenings for Jiang Yu's movie, which in turn boosted the box office.

This alone has surprised many people both inside and outside the industry. Generally, in situations like this, unless the quality and reputation are exceptionally good, it's very difficult to turn things around.

Many people in the industry have seen Jiang Yu's movie and were immediately amazed, shocked by his talent and strength.

The one who was most heartbroken and least willing to see this outcome was Chu Shaoyang.

Now that Jiang Yu's film has taken off, it's causing some trouble for Chu Shaoyang and the entire Warner Entertainment. Chu Shaoyang, in particular, had paid a heavy price to unite film companies and theater owners against Jiang Yu. Now, Jiang Yu has broken through that blockade. The film's box office success has caused him significant losses. Not only within the industry, but many companies that previously collaborated with him are gradually distancing themselves, and some are even seeking cooperation with Jiang Yu for personal gain.

Even his position within the company has been affected. Since his conflict with Jiang Yu, several of his decisions have been flawed, resulting in significant losses for the company. This has caused dissatisfaction among some of the lower-level employees and shareholders. If it weren't for his father's intervention, he probably would have had to relinquish his position as president.

At this moment, Chu Shaoyang was looking at the news online. In particular, seeing more and more netizens praising Jiang Yu's movie, and even seeing Jiang Yu's box office soaring, now almost breaking 8 million yuan, made Chu Shaoyang feel a little uncomfortable.

This feeling was as if Jiang Yu had slapped him hard across the face, one slap after another.

Even his current position is somewhat precarious. Within the company, shareholders and subordinates are harboring resentment towards him. Losing to Jiang Yu time and time again, Chu Shaoyang is quite frustrated this time. He doesn't even know if he can hold onto his position. "Jiang Yu..."

Chu Shaoyang gritted his teeth, especially when he saw the news about Jiang Yu's movie online. He was seething with hatred, but there was nothing he could do.

……

As for Jiang Yu, he's been taking a break lately. He was previously busy with promotional tours because he was worried about the film's performance. Now that the film is doing well, he doesn't need to work so hard anymore. He no longer needs to worry about it. The box office is already close to 8 million yuan, which is more than enough. However, it seems the film's box office potential is far from exhausted and could potentially grow even further.

Jiang Yu knew his film had a very small budget. It was a niche fantasy film, so he hadn't spent much on production costs. The high box office success meant he'd already made a lot of money.

Jiang Yu felt that it was already good enough to exchange a small investment of tens of millions for such a large sum of hundreds of millions, and even more box office revenue.

Moreover, what he wants from this film is not just box office success, but a way to break into the film industry. His company is involved in film productions, including theatrical releases, variety shows, television dramas, and movies, and has even made a good start in each, managing to establish a foothold in the industry before gradually expanding.

With so many IPs at his disposal, he can just film them gradually. His company is now involved in various industries and has achieved considerable success in each, which is already very satisfying for Jiang Yu.

Now that the initial phase is complete, and projects that have already demonstrated their strength and potential to major capital firms and investors certainly don't need his involvement.

Once you get off to a good start and demonstrate your value to investors and major capital players, you'll definitely have no shortage of funds. You can then gradually retire and move behind the scenes, having more time to focus on your personal life.

He's been scouting for new talent lately and has signed quite a few new actors. The second season of the talent show "Tomorrow's Star" is also about to begin, and he'll be returning as a mentor and one of the investors. He plans to collaborate with Tencent Video on the show to invite more promising newcomers. Once he's nurtured these newcomers and has a large roster of artists in his company, he can support the entire company and truly make money without lifting a finger.

Take now, for example. After the film industry improved, the newcomers he signed—Lin Feifei, Yang Zihan, Zhao Ying, and Huang Chen—are all capable of carrying a film on their own. These four artists are now the backbone of the company. The recently signed actors are also being prepared to film some new projects this year to promote them. Before filming their own projects, he'll first get these new actors into various productions. He has connections and influence in various circles; getting some of them into these roles to get some exposure and play supporting characters, like third or fourth male leads, is quite feasible.

During this time, Jiang Yu had a leisurely life, not running around to make announcements or promote the movie, but just resting at home.

Sometimes, after Su Muwan and Yang Xue finished their work and returned to Zhonghai, they would get together, have a meal at home, chat, and maybe even explore new maps of their neighborhood.

Jiang Yu's film, after a month, has surpassed 15 billion yuan at the box office. However, the daily box office growth has slowed down and isn't as rapid as before. Reaching 20 billion yuan will likely be difficult.

By the time the film left theaters, its total box office revenue had reached 18 billion yuan. This placed it among the top three films released during the Spring Festival season, just shy of second place.

The top-grossing film also reached 23 billion yuan, only a few hundred million yuan more than Jiang Yu's movie. For a fantasy romance film with a niche genre to achieve 18 billion yuan in box office is quite impressive, even domestically. In the fiercely competitive environment of the entire Spring Festival film season, achieving such a high box office is somewhat surprising to many.

Everyone knows that Jiang Yu's film is the biggest dark horse of the Spring Festival season.

Initially met with skepticism, with many believing that a film like Jiang Yu, with its niche subject matter, would inevitably break the billion-yuan mark, it has now become the most talked-about film of the Spring Festival season, even ranking second in box office revenue.

In fact, if it weren't for the fantasy romance genre, many believe Jiang Yu's film would have easily surpassed 20 billion yuan. However, even with its current success, everyone considers it remarkable, especially for a new director like Jiang Yu. The fact that his debut film has achieved such outstanding results proves his talent and ability in this field.

Everyone knows that Jiang Yu's business empire is vast; his company is involved in music, variety shows, movies, and TV dramas. He's involved in every sector of the entertainment industry, and has achieved remarkable success in all of them. His company is now a well-known name within the industry. For a newly established company to achieve such renown and success, its future is limitless.

Even now, many investors and capital firms in the industry are very optimistic about Jiang Yu's company. And everyone knows that with the current development trend of education, Jiang Yu's company will definitely be a giant in China's cultural and entertainment industry in the future. And given his talent, he might even become a godfather of the cultural and entertainment industry.

What's most regrettable is that Jiang Yu is appearing in public less and less these days; he's rarely seen in public anymore. He used to be a regular on the variety show "Go Fighting!", but since the show ended, he's rarely been seen in public.

(End of this chapter)